As they
got back, Eric went towards them. "Is it true? Speed beat the
suspect?"
"Yes" Horatio simply said.
"Jesus. I couldn't believe it."
"Any problems taking him home?"
"No. Stayed silent all way long. You should take a look at him, Alexx. One officer got him above the eye. Nasty wound. But he didn't let me put a band aid on it."
"I'll stop by. He needs to talk. Otherwise he'll explode" Alexx said. "And I don't want to see that happen."
"Believe me, none of us want to" Horatio explained. "Eric, check Connor's records. Look for something."
"What for?"
"I'm not sure. Wish I could tell you more. And Eric? This stays between us for now, okay?"
"Okay. Later", Eric said and went.
Horatio sighed and looked down at his feet.
"Hey. Don't give you a hard time on this one" Alexx tried to sound normal.
"Then why do you sound so worried, too?" Horatio had to smile.
"You got me. I know that you care about him, about all of us. But he's my boy, too" Alexx smiled back. "I'll try to talk to him."
"Thanks."
Later that day, Alexx arrived at Speed's apartment. She went to the door and listened. Everything was quiet inside. She took the door knob and turned it around. The door wasn't locked so she stepped into the room. "Tim? It's me, Alexx. You alright?" she said and walked slowly deeper into the apartment. As she passed the bathroom, she peered inside and saw some bloody handkerchiefs on the floor. She looked around and went towards the living room. He sat on the couch, his back turned towards her. A bottle of Scotch was right in front of him on the table. It was almost empty. Carefully she stepped around him.
"Honey, you look horrible. Let me get…" she said, but was interrupted by him as he refused to get touched by her.
"Leave it, Alexx. I don't need your help" his voice was hoarse. Obviously he had cried before, his eyes still red, the right one swollen from a cut above.
"I'm not leaving. You'll need stitches" she said gently. "If you don't want to talk to me or Horatio, fine. But I'll not leave until that wound is treated."
He sighed. "You know that you're relentless, don't you?"
"You know that you're stubborn, don't you?" she smiled at him. "Now, let me take a look at this, okay?"
She went to the car to get the medical kit and as she came back he followed her into the bathroom. None of them spoke while Alexx worked as carefully as she could. After she had finished Alexx said to him: "I'll get some ice" and went into the kitchen.
As she closed the refrigerator, she could hear noises from the bathroom. "Tim?" she said and entered the room. He sat on the floor right next to the toilet, pale and sweating. "I'm…I think…I'm sick" he said quietly and began to throw up. Alexx just kneeled by his side and gently rubbed his back until he stopped heaving. "Sorry" he said.
"Nothing to be sorry for, honey. Are you able to get up?"
He just
nodded and took Alexx's arm to stable himself as they made their way
back to the bedroom. Once there she helped him to lie down, then put
off the shoes and tossed a blanket over him. "You've probably
got a slight concussion. And that alcohol isn't helping either."
She wiped away the sweaty pearls from his face.
"I didn't
drink any of it though I really would like to. I'm still on
painkillers from the hospital" he answered slowly.
Then she
got a bottle of medicine from her kit and a bottle of water from the
kitchen. "Here. That will help to calm your stomach."
He
looked at her suspiously and raised his left eyebrow.
"Trust
me." She smiled while he swallowed the pills with a drop of
water. After that she gently put the ice on the band aid that
covered the five stitches, soothed his curls and just sat there until
he closed his eyes. Once sure he was asleep, she returned to the
living room and got her cell phone out. She dialled Horatio's number.
"Caine."
"It's
me, Alexx."
"How's
it going?"
"Well, he's pretty shook up. I needed five
stitches for the cut above his eye. I have managed to get him some
sleeping pills."
"Did
you get a chance to talk to him?"
"No. He totally
blocked. He'll need some time to recover first. What about you? Any
news?"
"Yes. James Connor was sentenced for child abuse five years ago. Just got out of prison last month."
"Does he have more children?"
"He
had another daughter, but she was the reason he got into prison. Beat
her to death, just like Annie. But the evidence wasn't enough for
murder; so he only got convicted for manslaughter. Guess who was
working that case?"
"Tim."
"Yeah. I remember that he was pissed off because he couldn't do anything."
"Seeing the same crime again must be very hard. Maybe that's why he's totally down" Alexx said. "I don't want him to be alone tonight. He got a nasty blow at the head, probably a concussion. But my kids are home alone if I stay here."
"No worry, Alexx. I'll handle that. Thank you."
"No problem."
After the call she wandered around. She was here only a few times before. The apartment was…clean and somehow…neat. Despite his way of dressing and his often crumbled sight (even at the beginning of a shift in the morning) this place was organized. There were a lot of books everywhere. Plants at the windows, a fish tank and a few pictures on one wall. She took a close look at them. Three pics were from the Christmas parties at Alexx' house, two from Columbia University, two from what was obviously his family.
One hour
later she heard a soft knock at the door and she went to open it.
Eric greeted and hugged her before he stepped into the apartment.
"Horatio called me. How's Speed holding up?"
"Right
now he's asleep. Got him some sleeping pills", she smirked.
"Boy, he's going to be very upset when he finds out that I put
him under drugs."
"He'll get over it. What can I do to help him?" he asked.
"Most important thing: don't force him to talk. He's not ready yet. Just be there for him."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
"Good night."
tbc…